Our unjust treatment by ABU authorities

Sir: I write to you as a last option to get the general public interested in what is going on in the Faculty of Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to avert a repetition of what happened in Nassarawa State University Lafia during which protesting students were shot and killed.

We have always prided ourselves among the best of the best faculties in Ahmadu Bello University because we have always been taught by the same lecturers to stand by what we believe and never waiver until we get the desired result.

I was admitted in the year 2001 to study mechanical engineering and after series of strikes both local and external, I graduated in 2010/2011 only to be told that my residency had expired.

I was taken aback and wondered what residency meant, I was told that it was a stipulated period I was given to graduate if not then I was no longer a student of the institution. I went about trying to see what could be done to correct this and to my greatest surprise I found out that up to 50 students were also affected.

We knew we had to take our case to the current vice-chancellor Prof. Mustapha Abdullahi who earlier approved a third semester for students to graduate upon which more than half of the spillover students eventually did. Thanks to him, many of our colleagues are now serving in the NYSC programme.

We were advised to see the security coordinator of the university who promised to assist and he did by getting our names to the vice chancellor and we were told that our case will be looked into. Our names were compiled and submitted to him with the approval of the dean of the faculty of engineering.

We even went to see the Royal Father of Zaria, (Emir of Zazzau) but couldn’t get audience with him but saw the Ciroma of Zazzau who promised that it will be looked into. While we were waiting for a response, the Department of Mechanical Engineering caught fire. Those of us who had written down our names later became prime suspects with the security department accusing us of setting fire to the department.

The state SSS was invited to investigate and they detained three students in their cells in Kaduna.

So, we are appealing to the Minister Of Education, the National Association Of Nigerian Students (NANS) civil society groups and the Vice chancellor to intervene in this matter before they wrongly dismiss students who all this while were paying the school fees even during the time their residency allegedly expired. The Federal Government already has its hands full with security challenges without additional threats from frustrated students. Please help before they become security threat to their own nation.